Jerry McEntee, the legendary former AFSCME president, died Sunday at age 87, after a lifetime of fighting for working people.
His family requests that those who wish to offer condolences consider contributing to the Gerald W. McEntee Scholarship Fund. Click here to donate to the Gerald W. McEntee Scholarship Fund.
AFSCME members are eligible to apply for the Gerald W. McEntee Scholarship. The $5,000 scholarship will go to the applicant who best exemplifies McEntee’s commitment to strengthening our union through organizing, building political power for working families, defending workers’ rights and supporting public services.
It is a one-time $5,000 scholarship awarded annually to an AFSCME member for use towards higher education.
McEntee (1935-2022) was a longtime AFSCME president who led the union to historic growth and positioned it as a prominent national political force. Born in Philadelphia to working-class parents, he joined AFSCME District Council 33 in his early 20s and worked as a staffer there before rising through the ranks to become executive director of AFSCME Council 13.
He was elected president of AFSCME in 1981 and served in that role until his retirement in 2012.
